Back to playbooks

Scoreboard (prove it helped)

Pick 3-5 metrics. Track weekly. If you cannot measure it, it drifts into impression and anecdote.

Recommended core metrics

• After-hours EHR time (“pajama time”) per clinician
• Inbox time/day (or count x average handling time)
• Note closure time (visit -> signed note)
• Prior auth cycle time (request -> decision)
• Referral cycle time (order -> scheduled -> completed)
• Patient repeat-contact rate (how often patients have to call or message again on the same issue)

Good add-on metrics when they fit the target

• Denial-to-next-action time (how long a denial sits before someone can do the next thing)
• Repeat denial categories by payer or service line
• Time to scheduled referral visit
• Duplicate entry count in a target workflow
• Repeat patient call volume after instructions are sent

Safety / quality checks (always)

• Patient safety events related to the workflow change (should be zero or down)
• Patient complaint themes (watch for “I cannot reach my doctor” or “nobody can tell me what happened”)
• Clinician satisfaction (“did this actually help?”)

Measurement definitions (make this explicit)

For every metric, define:

• Definition: exact numerator / denominator or timing start-stop
• Source: EHR report, payer portal, manual sample, queue report, chart audit
• Guardrail: what must not worsen while this improves

Examples:

• After-hours EHR time Definition: clinician EHR activity outside scheduled clinic hours, per week Source: EHR usage report Guardrail: note quality and patient response delays do not worsen

• Prior auth cycle time Definition: request submitted to payer decision received Source: PA tracker, payer portal, manual sample Guardrail: approval quality does not worsen through missing documentation

• Patient repeat-contact rate Definition: repeat call or portal message on the same unresolved issue within a set window Source: message pool review or call-center sample Guardrail: do not suppress contact by making access harder

Reporting rhythm

• Weekly: quick numbers + one sentence interpretation
• Monthly: what we shipped + what changed + next target

Keep it honest

Do not hide a slower patient handoff behind a prettier dashboard. If time moved from one person to another, say that plainly.

Back to playbooks